Tag Archives: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

Google has been hard at work to get rid of the apps that have made it into their marketplace that contain malware for the Android operating system such as unlocked Samsung Galaxy II, Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson. This is the third time a batch of Android malware has been discovered and has essentially been labeled “Plankton.” Apparently the app had the ability to access a server for instructions on what the app should do next.

This is a pretty stealthy was for these developers to get their malware into the Android marketplace. With all of the questions that have arisen in recent weeks as a result of all of the malware that has been found in the Android marketplace it is apparent that Google is doing everything in their power to root out the issues.

Unlike previous apps, Plankton did not use holes in the security of the phone to attack the user, but instead called to instructions that were stored on another server to do its dirty work. They also chose to promote the app as an add on to Angry Birds, which is easily one of the most popular games in the history of mobile. It will certainly be interesting to see how these apps are packaged in the future to get an idea of what to avoid. The hackers also packaged the apps as Cheat Apps for Angry Birds, which helped the apps to spread much more quickly. Previous apps utilized trojan horses that infiltrate the phone such as LG Eve GW 620 unlocked, HTC Desire, etc.. and send text messages to numbers, driving up the cost for the user. Google continues to fight the malware attacks but it is clear that people are looking to exploit vulnerabilities in the operating system. It will be interesting to see how Google responds to these threats moving forward and whether or not they will be able to put an end to the uploading of illegal materials.